Using Microsoft Word to determine the readability of a passage
It is very important to recognize that science and technically written text will always be rated higher than fiction or traditional classroom readings. As a result, it is important to apply this and other grade level readability tests to a familiar text as a sort of “calibration”. Textbook companies pride themselves on supplying materials that are both age and grade appropriate, so their grade level assessments consider the technical nature of science text and adjust the tools appropriately. Using a grade level passage from one of these texts should provide you with the needed validation of the reading level of your selected text outside of your adopted series for science or other content areas.
In this section, we will be looking at a passage from the NASA Educator Rocket Guide in the Pictorial History of Rockets background reading. This section would be considered non-fiction and may or may not be included in the unit. Required reading will include the directions for constructing the paper rocket and maintaining the budget throughout the unit. These should be considered technical reading and applied to ELA Common Core skills where appropriate in your sequence.
Hero Engine, c. A.D. 10 to 70 “Though not a rocket, the main principle behind rocket (and jet) propulsion was employed in a steam engine invented by Hero of Alexandria. The exact appearance of Hero’s engine is not known, but it consisted of some sort of copper vessel heated by a fire beneath. Water in the vessel turned into steam and traveled up two tubes to a hollow sphere that was free to rotate. Two L-shaped tubes from the sphere allowed the steam to escape in jets of gas. The sphere rotated rapidly in the opposite direction of the jets. The Hero engine was seen as an amusing toy, and its potential was not realized for a thousand years.” (p. 2. NASA Rockets Educator Guide, Rockets History) Mechanical Engineer
“If you like to take things apart to find out how they work, you are in good company—that of mechanical engineers. They design, build, and operate many types of machines, such as those that run refrigerators, elevators, automobiles, and electric generators. Mechanical engineers also develop robots. Robotic machines do many kinds of jobs, from heavy manufacturing to delicate heart surgery. To qualify for a career in robotics, start developing your math, science, and computer skills while you are in school. In college and graduate school, you would specialize in mechanical engineering.” MacMillan 5th Grade e-Career Passage
Knowing this publisher’s 5th grade passage is rated by the MS Word tool as a Flesch-Kincaid 11.1 grade level, ensures the passage from the NASA guide should have an instructional or independent reading level for most 5th graders at 8.8.
NASA Rocket Guide Readability Level
MacMillan/McGraw-Hill 5th Gr Level
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This passage is the first in the series of historical reflections in the Pictorial History of Rockets. The Close or Cloze test is another tool used to determine comprehension and readability for new text. http://l.georges.online.fr/tools/cloze.html is an online Cloze Test generator that easily creates such a test with a cut & paste text box and variations in how you select the terms to be omitted.
Archytas, a Greek philosopher, _, and astronomer was said to have constructed and flown _ small bird-shaped device that _ propelled by a jet of steam or compressed air. The 'bird' may have been by a wire or at the end of _ bar that revolved around sort of pivot. This ___ the first reported device use rocket propulsion.
English Language Arts & Reading (ELA) Common Core Standards Reading : Informational Text Grade Level 5ELA Standards for Reading Informational Text are easily connected in the NASA Rockets guide background readings for Key Ideas & Details, Craft & Structure and Integration of Knowledge & Ideas. A little more effort may be applied to draft writing activities which meet the Writing Standards. A suggestion to more deeply engage the students in writing skills might be to have them design a presentation in Prezi, PowerPoint or as a "Living Biography" for a component or era of discovery in the Pictorial History of Rockets.
The Hotlinks in the paragraph above will connect you to the sites mentioned or an example of the presentation. Beyond an image browsers search for images of rockets, below are resources for multimedia resources the students may review and download for their drafting their writing and storyboards for their presentations.
MS Word Grade Level Readability Tool
Reading Passage Cloze Test
ELA Standards & Student Presentation Resources
Link to Home Page
Using Microsoft Word to determine the readability of a passage
It is very important to recognize that science and technically written text will always be rated higher than fiction or traditional classroom readings. As a result, it is important to apply this and other grade level readability tests to a familiar text as a sort of “calibration”. Textbook companies pride themselves on supplying materials that are both age and grade appropriate, so their grade level assessments consider the technical nature of science text and adjust the tools appropriately. Using a grade level passage from one of these texts should provide you with the needed validation of the reading level of your selected text outside of your adopted series for science or other content areas.
In this section, we will be looking at a passage from the NASA Educator Rocket Guide in the Pictorial History of Rockets background reading. This section would be considered non-fiction and may or may not be included in the unit. Required reading will include the directions for constructing the paper rocket and maintaining the budget throughout the unit. These should be considered technical reading and applied to ELA Common Core skills where appropriate in your sequence.
The text I will use for calibration here comes from the online passage in the MacMillan/McGraw-Hill Building Brighter Futures Feature from the Science, A Closer Look, Grade 5 Series. This is a STEM career focus passage now found in most publisher science textbooks. Published by Macmillan/McGraw-Hill, a division of the Educational and Professional Publishing Group of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 1221 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10020. Copyright ©2006
http://www.macmillanmh.com/science/2009/student/ky/grade5/ecareer/g5_ecareer_physical2.html
Hero Engine, c. A.D. 10 to 70
“Though not a rocket, the main principle behind rocket (and jet) propulsion was employed in a steam engine invented by Hero of Alexandria. The exact appearance of Hero’s engine is not known, but it consisted of some sort of copper vessel heated by a fire beneath. Water in the vessel turned into steam and traveled up two tubes to a hollow sphere that was free to rotate. Two L-shaped tubes from the sphere allowed the steam to escape in jets of gas. The sphere rotated rapidly in the opposite direction of the jets. The Hero engine was seen as an amusing toy, and its potential was not realized for a thousand years.”
(p. 2. NASA Rockets Educator Guide, Rockets History)
Mechanical Engineer
“If you like to take things apart to find out how they work, you are in good company—that of mechanical engineers. They design, build, and operate many types of machines, such as those that run refrigerators, elevators, automobiles, and electric generators. Mechanical engineers also develop robots. Robotic machines do many kinds of jobs, from heavy manufacturing to delicate heart surgery. To qualify for a career in robotics, start developing your math, science, and computer skills while you are in school. In college and graduate school, you would specialize in mechanical engineering.”
MacMillan 5th Grade e-Career Passage
Knowing this publisher’s 5th grade passage is rated by the MS Word tool as a Flesch-Kincaid 11.1 grade level, ensures the passage from the NASA guide should have an instructional or independent reading level for most 5th graders at 8.8.
This passage is the first in the series of historical reflections in the Pictorial History of Rockets. The Close or Cloze test is another tool used to determine comprehension and readability for new text.
http://l.georges.online.fr/tools/cloze.html is an online Cloze Test generator that easily creates such a test with a cut & paste text box and variations in how you select the terms to be omitted.
Sample Close Test generated online.
Archytas, a Greek philosopher, _, and astronomer was said to have constructed and flown _ small bird-shaped device that _ propelled by a jet of steam or compressed air. The 'bird' may have been by a wire or at the end of _ bar that revolved around sort of pivot. This ___ the first reported device use rocket propulsion.
WORDLIST: The a mathematician mounted of some suspended to was
(p. 2. NASA Rockets Educator Guide, Rockets History)
Back to the Top
English Language Arts & Reading (ELA) Common Core Standards
Reading : Informational Text Grade Level 5ELA Standards for Reading Informational Text are easily connected in the NASA Rockets guide background readings for Key Ideas & Details, Craft & Structure and Integration of Knowledge & Ideas. A little more effort may be applied to draft writing activities which meet the Writing Standards. A suggestion to more deeply engage the students in writing skills might be to have them design a presentation in Prezi, PowerPoint or as a "Living Biography" for a component or era of discovery in the Pictorial History of Rockets.
The Hotlinks in the paragraph above will connect you to the sites mentioned or an example of the presentation. Beyond an image browsers search for images of rockets, below are resources for multimedia resources the students may review and download for their drafting their writing and storyboards for their presentations.
materials/listbytype/Discovery_Education_NASA_at_50.html
National Air & Space Museum
Rockets & Missiles